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BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0553E
SUNSET: 1753E
VERY STRONG WIND GUSTS OVERNIGHT, PARTLY SUNNY, COLDER, AND STILL
WINDY TODAY….
A very dynamic storm system that cross over the Great Lakes
region over the weekend, and then up into Canada yesterday brought
bouts of heavy rain and strong gusty winds to the region yesterday
into very early this morning.
Wind really started ramping up during the evening yesterday with
gusts over 70mph occurring here on the summit by 11pm. The
strongest surge of wind occurred between 10pm and 2am with
frequent gusts over 50s, and a peak gust of 81mph occuring at
12:22am this morning. This gust set a new record for the date,
beating the previous record of 70mph set back in 1973.
The rain came to an end early this morning, but then a brief
period of snow occurred between 8-9am this morning as one last
plume of moisture moved through. The storm total rainfall for the
event was 1.45″.
The balance of today has been much colder and drier with a mix of
sun and clouds, with the sunshine becoming more prevalent as we
move through the early afternoon hours.
Temperatures warmed to 60F overnight, with the maximum temperature
occurring around 9pm last night. There after a very gradual decline
through the 50s and into the upper 40s occurred until the cold
front moved through between 5-6am. There after the temperature
dropped rapidly into the mid to upper 30s. Readings have been having
a hard time recovering today as strong cold air advection continues
to take place, holding temperatures in the low 40s through early
this afternoon. Dew points dropped off markedly from around 60F
overnight to the low 20s by early this afternoon. This, along with
the continued gusty winds, is making it feel a lot colder today.
As mentioned, the wind continues to be gusty today out of the west
to west-northwest. The average speed for the day so far is around
24mph. Gusts are still frequently exceeding 30mph into early this
afternoon.
The visibility today has been excellent with a view of 70 miles
being the theme all day so far.
The maximum temperature so far today is 59F degrees, which is
15 degrees above the normal high of 44F. The minimum temperature
since midnight is 37F degrees, which is 10 degrees above the
normal low of 27F.
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Today’s Observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus, overcast nimbostratus, few breaks
in overcast distant W-N-NNE, virga distant S-WSW
Temperature: 37F; Dew Point: 31F; Relative Humidity: 78%
Wind: W @ 16G25 kts, peak wind W 39mph at 5:58 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 1000.8 mb; 29.55 in. Hg: rising rapidly
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 58F
6-hr Min temp: 37F
24-hr Precip: 0.80 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1155 E20 BKN 35 OVC 70 008/37/31/2816G25/955/ FEW BINOVC DSNT
W-N-NNE VIRGA DSNT S-WSW R-B45E54 PRESRR PK WND 2634/58/ 8/52/ 53057
6001/ 70080 10058 20037
10 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus, broken cirrus
Temperature: 38F; Dew Point: 25F; Relative Humidity: 57%
Wind: W @ 18G31 kts, peak wind WNW 36mph at 9:50 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 1004.6 mb; 29675 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles
3-hr Precip: Trace
3-hr Snowfall: Trace
BHO SA 1455 E37 BKN 250 BKN 70 046/38/25/2818G31/967/ PK WND 2931/50/
TOTAL NEW SNW PST 3 HRS TRACE/ 8/501 51038 6000/
1 P.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus, broken cirrus
Temperature: 43F; Dew Point: 21F; Relative Humidity: 41%
Wind: W @ 16G26 kts, peak wind W 33mph at 12:34 P.M
Sea-level pressure: 1006.3mb; 29.72 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 43F
6-hr Min temp: 37F
6-hr Precip: Trace
6-hr Snowfall: Trace
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1755 E60 BKN 250 BKN 70 063/43/21/2716G26/972/ PK WND 2629/34/
TOTAL NEW SNW PST 6 HRS TRACE/ 8/501 51017 6000/ 10043 20037
————————————————————–
SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2026
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….60 NORMAL…..44
MIN…….36 NORMAL…..27
MEAN……48 NORMAL…..35
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL……………+13
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………..+106 [+6.4 DEGREES/DAY]
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2025 THRU JUN 2026)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….17 DEPARTURE…….-13
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (MAR)………402 DEPARTURE……-107
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….4994 DEPARTURE……..+3
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..4590 DEPARTURE……+354
PEAK WIND GUST (MPH):
Note: Instruments designated #1 = Main Tower, #2 = South Tower,
F420C, Contacting, Merlin, and Richards are all on Main Tower.
E=Estimated *=Last of multiple occurrences
F420C (Official)………..71 SSW @ 11:40 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….72 S @ 10:57 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….70 S @ 11:40 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….77 S @ 07:22 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………90 S @ 11:40 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..74 S @ 10:57 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..77 S @ 11:40 P.M.
MERLIN………………….M
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……73 SSW @ 11:40 P.M.
FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………49 SSW @ 11:40 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..49 SSW @ 11:41 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..51 S @ 11:41 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………50 S @ 11:08 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………57 S @ 11:41 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..47 SSW @ 11:41 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..49 S @ 11:08 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………47 SSW @ 11:41 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……..23.5 S [565 total miles]
VECTOR #1………………22.9
VECTOR #2………………24.2
DAVIS #1……………….22.8 S
DAVIS #2……………….25.1 S
RMY #1…………………22.4 S
RMY #2…………………23.6 SSE
RICHARDS (C5C)………….22.2
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.80 DEPARTURE…..+0.62
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (MAR)……..3.49 DEPARTURE…..+0.71
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)…….10.08 DEPARTURE…..-1.20
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE…..-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH (MAR)…………..2.5 DEPARTURE…..-6.8
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2025-2026)……81.2 DEPARTURE….+20.0
————————————————————–
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN)/SUN(%)/PEAK GUST/VEC1/RMY GUST
PEAK GUST: F420C (Official)
VEC1: Vector #1 1-second gust
RMY: R.M. Young #1 wind gust recording system (Instantaneous)
TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day)
….: Data not yet available, records not finalized
M: Missing data
3/1 37/19/28/-3/0.10/1.9/209/31 30 NNW VEC1 31 NNW RMY 31
3/2 28/8/18/-14/0.00/0.0/665/98 25 N VEC1 25 NNW RMY 25
3/3 32/17/25/-7/0.43/0.5/211/31 21 S VEC1 21 S RMY 22
3/4 54/30/42/+10/0.22/0.0/670/98 20 W VEC1 19 W RMY 20
3/5 46/33/40/+8/0.36/0.0/000/00 35 ENE VEC1 35 ENE RMY 38
3/6 33/26/30/-3/0.06/T/000/00 32 ENE VEC1 32 ENE RMY 33
3/7 46/32/39/+6/0.01/0.0/000/00 39 SSW VEC1 39 SSW RMY 42
3/8 54/46/50/+17/0.01/0.0/007/01 33 SSW VEC1 34 SSW RMY 34
3/9 67/45/56/+23/0.00/0.0/684/98 30 SSW VEC1 30 SW RMY 31
3/10 74/48/61/+27/0.00/0.0/673/96 28 SW VEC1 27 WSW RMY 28
3/11 59/39/49/+15/0.12/0.0/500/71 38 SSW VEC1 38 SSW RMY 42
3/12 57/30/44/+10/0.18/T/000/00 35 NW VEC1 34 WNW RMY 37
3/13 42/25/34/0/T/T/383/54 32 WNW VEC1 32 NW RMY 34
3/14 47/30/39/+4/0.01/0.1/606/85 54 WNW VEC1 54 WNW RMY 56
3/15 41/28/35/0/0.00/0.0/…/.. 30 SE VEC1 30 SE RMY 29
3/16 60/36/48/+13/1.43/0.0…/.. 71 SSW VEC1 72 S RMY 74
3/17 The low since midnight is 37F, the daily normal low is 27F.
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MARCH DAILY RECORDS TO DATE
3/9 RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 45F,
BEATING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 42F SET IN 1922
3/10 RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 74F,
BEATING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 69F SET IN 1977
3/17 RECORD PEAK WIND GUST OF 81MPH,
BEATING THE OLD RECORD OF 70MPH SET IN 1973
————————————————————–
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated)
RECORDS FOR MARCH 17
HIGH 69 IN 2003
LOW 6 IN 1885
PRECIP 2.12 INS. IN 2025
SNOWFALL 6.5 INS. IN 1956
PEAK GUST 70 MPH SSW IN 1973
RECORDS FOR MARCH 18
HIGH 73 IN 2022
LOW 0 IN 1885
PRECIP 5.61 INS. IN 1968 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
SNOWFALL 9.3 INS. IN 1985
PEAK GUST 71e MPH WNW IN 1941
TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas
